(Photo credit: Edmund Choo, Zaira Biagini, & Simon Goldsmith)

The English Touring Opera and Britten Pears Arts have released the casting for its new c0-production of Dame Judith Weir’s “Blond Eckbert.”

Baritone Simon Wallfisch returns to the English Touring Operas for the first time since 2015, in the title role. He is joined by soprano Aoife Miskelly, who sings the role of Bird. Mezzo-soprano Flora McIntosh performs Berthe, and tenor William Morgan performs the roles of Walther, Hugo and Old Woman.

Robin Norton-Hale directs the production, and Gerry Cornelius conducts.

The opera will open the 75th Aldeburgh Festival on June 7, as part of the festival’s focus on Dame Judith’s music. The Weir work will then tour around the country during the English Touring Opera’s Autumn 2024 season, which also includes a new production of Rimsky-Korsakov’s “The Snow Maiden.”